A blog which accompanies a lovely vintage website www.whatsyourtalenightingale.co.uk Our dastardly plan is to look back and find the best of the past and blend the ideals and items we find seamlessly with what's good about today

Thursday, 22 May 2014

This is the first of our maker blogs in our Make Do and Mend series, where we will show you how to make some pretty new bits or alter some old ones. We start with...Headscarf Make-Up BagThe things you'll need:One vintage scarf or hankie,Nappy LiningBulldog clips (to use instead of pins)Sewing MachineNeedle and ThreadIronButtonStep 1Start off with with picking your scarf or hankie, we went for our favourite "A present from Cromer"

Step 2For the lining we are using nappy lining as it's waterproof and easy to clean. Cut the lining a little bit smaller that the scarf, we did 5mm, so you have an edge to sew around.

Step 3This is where your bulldog clips come in, you can't pin the lining as it won't be waterproof anymore so use the clips to hold the lining in place. We didn't have any clips so just took it slow.

Step 4After that you will have some nice neat edge (cough, ours might be a tad squiffy)

Now comes the folding bit, you want to make sure your bag will looks good from all angles so flip it over and double check you're not upside down. Next you want to make sure the items you want to fit in can, we have made that mistake before (a nice phone case became a lovely iPod one instead)

So things don't slip out the sides, turn the top over so there is a fold at the top, like the picture below.

Step 5Once you've worked out your shape, iron it in place as it makes it easier to keep the edges, especially with this piece as you still can't use pins.

Step 6Now it's sewing time. Make sure you start at the top so the flaps stay in line and be careful to only sew the hankie and not the lining so not to pierce it. When you are finished it should look like an open envelope.

Step 7Next on is your fastening button, we've gone for a cute white flower shape one to compliment the colours of the hankie. Once you've worked out where you want it to go, sew it underneath the opening flap.

Step 8

Now your button is in place, use a pin to mark out on the flap where the button hole will be. Then carefully cut it out and sew up the edges. Some of you lovely lot will probably have a attachment on your sewing machine to do that but we did ours by hand whilst watching some soaps :)

Step 9Ta da! Your finished, now fill it full of your make up and show it off to friends and family so they can see how talented you are (Last step not totally necessary)

This blog falls into our Make Do and Mend series which is all about sewing, making and mending. Find out more about this series and our others at on our Overview blog or find more in the same series by pressing the "Make Do and Mend" tab at the top of the page.

Wednesday, 21 May 2014

We like the idea of empowering you at What's your tale, Nightingale?. We believe that everyone can make a difference by the small actions they do and we want to show you how. So many parts of Home Front Britain worked because everyone played their part, whether it was taking on extra war work, rationing their food or simply recycling their old pots and pans. They might seem trivial but those little things did make a big difference and there are so many small things today that can have that same big effect.

Crowd funding is one of them, it's where a project gets the funding it needs through a "crowd" of financiers, usually through small amounts from a large group of people and through the internet. Most projects have pledges as little as a £1 and reward their backers with little treats to say thank you for supporting. We love this idea at HQ and think that it encapsulates that Home Front ideal of everyone doing their bit perfectly so we want to do our bit and get those projects out there for you to see.

Each week we will showcase a project, nearing its end, that needs your help. They could be ones close to their target and need an extra push, quirky enough to catch our eye or just because we like them. The projects we are supporting that week will pop up every Thursday on our Facebook page and our Twitter.

Remember as the Emperor said in Mulan "One grain of rice is enough to tip the scales" Be that grain of rice.

This blog falls into our Do Your Bit series which is all about lending your hand to the little things to make the big things happen. Find out more about this series and our others at on our Overview blog or find more in the same series by pressing the "Do Your Bit" tab at the top of the page.

Wednesday, 14 May 2014

You know we believe a lot can be learnt from the past. We like looking back and picking up the goodies, ideals and tips they had to help make today a little brighter.

And we love to share these little gems with you, our website and stalls are full of the goodies, this blog is where we show the ideals but those little tips have been left on the wayside. So we have decided to start a new weekly post over on our Facebook and Twitter, called Tip of the Week. We'll scour old books, vintage magazines and the world wide web to bring to you the best, silliest and down write strange tips from the past 100 years for you to use or laugh at. Look out for them every Wednesday, starting today.This blog falls into our Our Updates series which is all about keeping you up to date with our dastardly plans. Find out more about this series and our others at on our Overview blog or find more in the same series by pressing the "Our Updates" tab at the top of the page.

Monday, 5 May 2014

You've heard us muttering for a while about vintage ideals and what they mean to us but we've not really got into the nitty gritty of it but we thought now is the time to start. The ideals we love might seem dated but we think they aren't far from ones that are needed in the modern world to make it a little greener and happier. So welcome to our new and improved blog. Each post is now organised into categories reminiscent of Home Front campaign titles, which are as follows:

These blogs are all about anything to do with food. Think of tips and trade secrets for growing your own veg, recipes on how to make in season food scrumptious beyond belief, ideas for innovative growing spaces and so much more. In both world wars food became exceptionally precious as it became harder to come by, and people turned to their own talent and spaces for growing and enjoying food. We want to revive that love and passion and show you how it can be done with ease.

Transport was very different back in Home Front Britain, many people didn't have cars and even those that did had to use other forms of transport as petrol became rarer. Even horse and cart was seen again on the streets of our cities. These blogs will all be about different forms of travel, whether it's holidays with a vintage edge, bicycle maintenance or even just fun days out on vintage vehicles. If it's transport, it will be in here. We will also be helping you out with what to wear whilst you're off on your adventures from the perfect biking outfit to different ways to wear your hair under a helmet.

So many campaigns were about reducing waste as factories were needed for the war effort and boats struggled to get supplies in. Think Make Do and Mend, Save Your Scrap Rubber, Donate Your Pots and Pans. All of these resonate with the green ideals of today which are close to our heart at HQ. We want to show how easy it is to reduce the waste from your life by championing things like clothes swaps and freecycle, how to upcycle and what "rubbish" you can reuse.

So many people believe that their small actions can't be effective as they are only 1 in a billion but we don't believe that and want to show that the little things you do can make a big difference. Whether that's helping to digitalise old books or donating your small change to charity, we are going to give you hundreds of opportunities to help out. We also believe doing your bit is looking after yourself so we will also be filling this blog with tricks and tips on looking fabulous and taking care of yourself because we all know you need to be at your best to be able to take on the world.

We are a silly old lot at HQ and love a good giggle. These blogs will be about brightening your day so you can keep going when this are looking a bit drab (think Tuesday at 3 o'clock when your mid afternoon slump starts and you've still got the rest of the week to go) This will include small ditties, funny pictures and our current weekly Give A Little Love Tuesday blogs which is all about perking up the not so loved day of the week. Think of us keeping up moral, here to keep your smile going and you surviving your week.

These blogs are all about the world of making, whether that's sewing, repairing, building or maintaining, here is where we will put it. We will show you how to take something old and make it into something new and fabulous, teach you simple sewing techniques and ways to keep your items lovely with useful cleaning tips. We will also be showing off some fabulous vintage fabrics and what they can be used for.

This blog series will be about how you can blend the vintage items you buy from us or find on your travels, in seamless with the modern day and how you don't need to have a complete vintage life for them to fit in. It will range from the simplest accessory and how you can make it work with your modern wardrobe to how the slot that beautiful pieces of vintage furniture into your home without it looking like a 1960's time capsule.

We want to keep you up to date with our goings on and these blogs will do just that. Here you will find out when we add a new product line, having a sale or getting a new venture.

These titles also link up with Pinterest boards so you can see them in picture form. To keep up to date with us, sign up on the right hand side or follow us on Bloglovin. Or if you want a bite size snippet of all these, in your inbox once a month sign up to our newsletter here and you'll never be out of the loop.